Gamification of English as a foreign language learning: a proposal to examine its effects on participation and motivation among pre-service English teachers

Resumen

Sustaining motivation and active participation across an entire English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course is a persistent challenge in university teacher-education programs, where traditional, transmission-based instructional formats can leave students disengaged despite adequate access to content. This article presents a research proposal that examines the extent to which a gamified learning experience — built around points, badges, challenges, immediate feedback, and progress tracking — can increase classroom participation and motivation among students of the Licenciatura en Español e Inglés. Drawing on gamification theory in educational contexts (Khaldi, Bouzidi, & Nader, 2023; Zhang & Hasim, 2023) and on recent systematic reviews documenting its effects on language learners (Chen, Tan, Lee, & Sun, 2025; Laura-De La Cruz et al., 2023; Ratinho & Martins, 2023), the study proposes a quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design in which approximately thirty undergraduate students will take part in an eight-week gamified intervention within their regular EFL course. Data will be gathered through a motivation questionnaire administered before and after the intervention and a classroom participation observation checklist applied throughout the implementation period. This proposal details the problem, the theoretical rationale, the specific objectives, and the methodological design that will allow the research team to determine whether, and under which conditions, gamification contributes to more active and more motivated engagement with English learning among future English teachers.